Circular Slovenia named in 100 Climate Policy Breakthroughs

The peer-to-peer learning platform for governments, Apolitical, included EIT Climate-KIC’s Deep Demonstration of a Circular, Regenerative and Low-Carbon Economy in Slovenia as one of its 100 Climate Policy Breakthroughs. The list celebrates meaningful climate action and impactful policies from around the world with the potential for scalability and effective change.

“The list was created from extensive in-house research, and [the Slovenian Deep Demonstration programme] policy was specifically selected as an example of impactful climate action that could inspire other policymakers,” says Ali Hunter, Climate Policy Fellow at Apolitical.

In November 2019, the Slovenian parliament passed a motion to adopt an EIT Climate-KIC-led proposal which aims to position Slovenia as a European leader in harnessing circularity to transform and decarbonise its economy while fostering a green economy and designing and promoting the smart and circular transition of local communities. The motion passing in parliament was the result of years of collaboration between EIT Climate-KIC and Slovenian government officials, climate change professionals, students and citizens, as EIT Climate-KIC Programme Manager Julia Panny explains in this piece.

A cross-sectoral and cross-disciplinary approach

The working plan seeks to marry different disciplines and work across boundaries and departments, which means in practice that city authorities, regional bodies, governments and local industry leaders are invited to join forces with the EIT Climate-KIC innovation community to tackle multiple levers of change simultaneously through rapid experiments. 

In an article that provides a high-level overview of what the Deep Demonstration entails, EIT Climate-KIC Head of Circular Economy Cliona Howie writes: “Slovenia needs a committed, ambitious and realistic climate policy and strategy in order to enable a healthy, sustainable and prosperous tomorrow for all Slovenes. Long-term strategic planning as pursued with the currently ongoing preparation of the country’s long-term climate strategy, is a key to ensure consistency and adequate ambition to meet the goals of the Paris agreement and transition to net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by mid-century. In this regard, moving away from traditional linear economic business models and transitioning to closed-loop systems has been defined by the Government of Slovenia as one of the country’s strategic development priorities and important building block of the carbon-neutral, prosperous and smart future.”

The plan centers around driving circularity across forestry, the built environment, manufacturing, food, and mobility. A dedicated vehicle called the Slovenian Center for Smart and Circular Transition will serve as the beating heart and physical centre of the Deep Demonstration, bringing together the different stakeholders and opening up activities to the wider public. It will also use training, education and capacity-building to foster life-long learning and to disseminate insights and good practices as widely as possible.

A new model of innovation to catalyse systemic change

“If we want to achieve climate impact, traditional models of funding and politics need to change,” says EIT Climate-KIC Chief Executive Officer, Kirsten Dunlop in an interview. She adds, “In addition to creating frameworks for collaborative investment, innovation and learning, we also need to broaden the scope of innovation to include finance, regulation, education, governance as well as non-unusual innovation suspects, like the creative arts, community and social movements.”

EIT Climate-KIC will help Slovenia design a portfolio of interventions that combine budgets and programmes across old silos—covering various combinations of technology, policy, education, entrepreneurship, regulation, social innovation, citizen engagement and financial innovation.

Find out more about the other policies on Apolitical’s list of 100 Climate Policy Breakthroughs here.

Contact us at: deepdemonstrations@climate-kic.org if you want to learn more about EIT Climate-KIC’s Deep Demonstration programmes in Slovenia and beyond.